America is a melting pot which has enabled it to be greater than nations which build walls and fences to keep out “undesirables”. Beware any candidate—much less a Trump—who hates the “vermin”.
Diane K24: Thank you, thank you for sharing. You and your column are right up there with my favorites. Thank you so much for linking me with Jay Kuo.
My Mom was Walloon-Belgian. So, I guess I am one of the immigrants "poisoning our blood". LOL!
There is no bottom floor to the depravity from Orange-Carnivalman that the GOP won't cover for. As I was born in the late 1940s, Joe McCarthy was spreading his prairie fires of poison abroad in the land. Edgar Hoover had been in the FBI since 1919, and when I was 11 years old in '59, J. Edgar Hoover had been at the helm for fully 40 years, and had infiltrated the Civil Rights movement with agents provocateurs (who sometimes broke up marriages), because J. Edgar Hoover looked upon the Civil Rights Movement -- which was THE GREAT MORAL MOVEMENT OF MY LIFE -- he looked upon THAT civil rights movement as undermined by Communist control.
Having made my way to FREEDOM from a family imbued with the right-wing extreme circa 55 years ago, I no longer look to persuade the Fundamentalist Flat-Earth-Racists.
Rather, I am unfortunately of the persuasion that fully one-quarter of our country is Fundamentalist, Flat-Earth CRAZY. And though they don't MEAN harm -- just ask them, they'll tell you, "No, we don't mean harm" -- they are of the same ILK as fell for the Third Reich in 1933! Most of those voters didn't mean no harm either!
(On the latter, I know whereof I speak. I am bilingual with German, and was stationed with the Air Force in the Rheinpfalz -- which I love as a second home for all of my loved ones over there. This was in the early '80s, and there were plenty of persons who were young adults during the Third Reich. Many conversations later, I know how they thought. I would suggest reading Irmgard Keun, "Nach Mitternacht" (if translated, the title would be "After Midnight"). Very clear writing from an author who was in exile from Germany as she wrote it in the Summer of 1936.
I’m in your age bracket, and this is what reminded me of the fight for sanity: “ Rather, I am unfortunately of the persuasion that fully one-quarter of our country is Fundamentalist, Flat-Earth CRAZY. And though they don't MEAN harm -- just ask them, they'll tell you, "No, we don't mean harm" -- they are of the same ILK as fell for the Third Reich in 1933! Most of those voters didn't mean no harm either!”
Immigration is the one thing MAGA has to stir up the base. It's also glaringly clear that today's "immigration" issue revolves around negative tropes referring to immigrants as "illegals," and even worse, "vermin" and "animals who bring disease and crime." I grew up (and still live) in Southern California and have lived in and around immigrant populations my entire life. They enrich the culture, and do most of the crap work we can't bring ourselves to do. It's beyond shameful how they're being portrayed by the Right!
Toxic masculinity is the elephant in the room.
You are sadly too right!! However, I really think they are wannabes!
Diane K24: Thank you, thank you for sharing. You and your column are right up there with my favorites. Thank you so much for linking me with Jay Kuo.
My Mom was Walloon-Belgian. So, I guess I am one of the immigrants "poisoning our blood". LOL!
There is no bottom floor to the depravity from Orange-Carnivalman that the GOP won't cover for. As I was born in the late 1940s, Joe McCarthy was spreading his prairie fires of poison abroad in the land. Edgar Hoover had been in the FBI since 1919, and when I was 11 years old in '59, J. Edgar Hoover had been at the helm for fully 40 years, and had infiltrated the Civil Rights movement with agents provocateurs (who sometimes broke up marriages), because J. Edgar Hoover looked upon the Civil Rights Movement -- which was THE GREAT MORAL MOVEMENT OF MY LIFE -- he looked upon THAT civil rights movement as undermined by Communist control.
Having made my way to FREEDOM from a family imbued with the right-wing extreme circa 55 years ago, I no longer look to persuade the Fundamentalist Flat-Earth-Racists.
Rather, I am unfortunately of the persuasion that fully one-quarter of our country is Fundamentalist, Flat-Earth CRAZY. And though they don't MEAN harm -- just ask them, they'll tell you, "No, we don't mean harm" -- they are of the same ILK as fell for the Third Reich in 1933! Most of those voters didn't mean no harm either!
(On the latter, I know whereof I speak. I am bilingual with German, and was stationed with the Air Force in the Rheinpfalz -- which I love as a second home for all of my loved ones over there. This was in the early '80s, and there were plenty of persons who were young adults during the Third Reich. Many conversations later, I know how they thought. I would suggest reading Irmgard Keun, "Nach Mitternacht" (if translated, the title would be "After Midnight"). Very clear writing from an author who was in exile from Germany as she wrote it in the Summer of 1936.
I’m in your age bracket, and this is what reminded me of the fight for sanity: “ Rather, I am unfortunately of the persuasion that fully one-quarter of our country is Fundamentalist, Flat-Earth CRAZY. And though they don't MEAN harm -- just ask them, they'll tell you, "No, we don't mean harm" -- they are of the same ILK as fell for the Third Reich in 1933! Most of those voters didn't mean no harm either!”
👍
Please post your post for sharing—I tried and only got my own post!
Your words are poetry to my ears.
For you~
In a land of vast and open skies,
Where dreams and freedoms are the prize,
A shadow falls, a wall divides,
Built not of stone, but fears and lies.
In states untouched by border lines,
Elections swayed by harsh designs,
A narrative, false and unkind,
Propaganda, tightly entwined.
Forgotten quickly, funds misused,
A project started, ethics abused.
In northern climes, concerns confused,
An enemy, unseen, accused.
In middle America, voices are rare,
That speak of borders, of immigrant scare.
Yet ads of fear, fill the air,
Guns raised high, in defiance, they dare.
A crisis of manhood, a question of might,
Is strength in arms, or in doing what's right?
Peace and prosperity, out of sight,
As shadows lengthen into the night.
Yet, America's heart, open and wide,
Has welcomed the weary, the hopeful, inside.
Not by free ride, but with pride,
They stand tall, side by side.
Against the tide of fear and hate,
A reminder of what makes America great.
Not walls or guns that segregate,
But unity and love, which we must reinstate.
For justice to come, swift and true,
For a nation of many, not just the few.
May we find strength in diversity's view,
And remember the values we once knew.
I Love this, Gloria! You say it better than I can shout it!
NO! I wrote the poem directly from YOUR words. 🥰
Thank you so much again but double!💙🇺🇸💙😍
Immigration is the one thing MAGA has to stir up the base. It's also glaringly clear that today's "immigration" issue revolves around negative tropes referring to immigrants as "illegals," and even worse, "vermin" and "animals who bring disease and crime." I grew up (and still live) in Southern California and have lived in and around immigrant populations my entire life. They enrich the culture, and do most of the crap work we can't bring ourselves to do. It's beyond shameful how they're being portrayed by the Right!
Thanks for your comment! I agree 100%! Maga has no shame just like their leader DJT. They are disgusting and un-American—and dangerous.